


What did we know?

by Resa_Saso



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: But mostly Twissy, F/M, I did it too, I'm Sorry, Implied Thoschei - Freeform, My tags are so useless, Vault fic actually, and a bit of Three/Delgado
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 03:17:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12645057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Resa_Saso/pseuds/Resa_Saso
Summary: Missy is struggling with a sudden lack of freedom, the Doctor is trying his hardest to keep her happy with compromises and somewhere along these days, they both find what they needed most. | Vault fic, because that's how we like our Twissy





	What did we know?

It had somehow become a habit. He didn’t want to compare it with a husband coming home to tell his wife about his working day, so he compared it to an idiot, going _somewhere_ to be an idiot and pretend like she cared about his working day, instead.  
  
_Somewhere_ , because the Vault wasn’t home and Missy would use every second they spent together, to remind him of that fact.  
  
He still couldn’t resist. It was one thing, travelling with humans, showing them the universe, watching their reactions, seeing their joy (or fear, or sadness, or terror, or worry, why did it always end like this?).  
  
It was something entirely else to have that one friend back home, that one friend who once wanted to see it all with you. That one friend who should’ve been there instead of them.  
  
And so he came back every evening, the first time he had something to truly return to, sitting down next to her with food and a faint smile on his lips, telling her about his adventures.  
  
  
  
‘You know, it’s impressive,’ she said one evening, dipping her fork deep into the Asian rice box he had brought, to pick out some chicken. ‘You’ve despised me for being a sadist, yet, you return here every night to torture me.’  
  
There were so many things wrong in this sentence, the Doctor didn’t even know where to start.   
  
‘What do you mean, I torture you?’  
  
With a cold gaze, she dropped fork and food. ‘Well, first of all, you let me eat Asian food with a plastic fork. I genuinely don’t know what is wrong with you. People invented chopsticks for this kind of thing.’  
  
He just stared at her, fork in the air, halfway on the way to his mouth.   
  
‘You know how to eat with chopsticks?’ he finally asked and continued eating. ‘I figured you were above these silly Earth things,’ he added chewing.   
  
‘You always just assume you know me,’ Missy snorted.   
  
The Doctor shrugged with a sheepish grin. There was no point in telling her he didn’t just assume so, he actually _did_. They both knew anyway.   
  
‘Second?’ he asked instead.  
  
Missy raised an eyebrow, but he urged her to go on.  
  
‘When you have a “first of all”, you usually have a whole, neatly organised list of at least 500 points.’  
  
‘You lock me in here,’ she finally said and you could hear from her tone, she had been eager to bring this up all along. ‘And go out there, free, every day, only to come back and tell me about it. What is this, if not methodical torture?’  
  
The Doctor froze.   
  
‘Sharing,’ he finally said. ‘You can’t go out there, I know it’s hard, but I thought I’d keep you…’  
  
‘What?’ she spat. ‘Entertained? Oh, thank you so much, our conversations are the _light_ of my day. Since they don’t involve anything else.’  
  
Now the Doctor, too, put his box away and leaned forward, to look into her eyes, a serious expression on his face.  
  
‘Missy,’ he started. ‘I have sworn to protect you and that means…’  
  
‘You have sworn to lock me up!’ she burst out. ‘You have sworn to protect your bloody universe from me, exactly the same as you always did. And now you’re coming in here every day, to rub my nose in it!’  
  
The Doctor felt chills everywhere on his body, felt cold stabs of ice in his hearts. He didn’t intend to make her feel this way, of course he didn’t, but he should’ve realised. He had lived it, he knew how he would feel if the roles were reversed. Hadn’t he been stuck on Earth? Hadn’t he been miserable during all his time he worked for UNIT, while the Master had been free to roam the universe? And in all their games, their battles, his friend had only very rarely stooped as low as to tell him about his adventures far away from Earth. Instead he had challenged him there, had stuck around with him, had been the only thing familiar in a world that wasn’t his.   
  
‘I’m sorry,’ he finally said. ‘I’m sorry, Missy. I didn’t realise.’  
  
‘You never do,’ she snorted.   
  
Leaning back in her chair, she stared to the walls, as if he wasn’t in here anymore.   
  
‘What can I do then?’ he asked her with uncertainty in his voice. ‘What can I do to make you feel better? I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner here, I…’  
  
‘It’s what I am,’ Missy hissed back. ‘Maybe it’s about time you treat me like one.’  
  
‘No. Missy, no.’  
  
She laughed, coldly. ‘Let me out then! Let me see the sun, let me feel night air! And if you just let me walk around the block! Anything, Doctor!’  
  
He couldn’t look at her, so instead he dropped his eyes to the floor when he answered.   
  
‘I can’t do that. You know I can’t.’  
  
‘Of course you can’t,’ she laughed and it was such a cold, cold sound, it froze him, made him remember how similar they were. When he looked up again, there was something in her face he recognised. An anger, a rage, so familiar, the same thing he had always used to cover up how incredibly lost he was. ‘I’m too dangerous, aren’t I?’  
  
‘Yes,’ the Doctor answered in an earnest tone. ‘Yes, you are. But you’re wrong, too. I’m not trying to protect the universe from you, well, not only, but you from yourself. If this is supposed to work… If you really want to become better… I’ll have to keep you away from temptation. Well, at the beginning.’  
  
The look out of Missy’s blue eyes had always been a little icy, but right now he felt like she was trying to freeze him to death with only one glare.  
  
‘Then get out, Doctor,’ she replied calmly. ‘Get out. Because, right now, I have never been more tempted to do _really_ terrible things to you.’  
  
He was looking for a sign on her face, something that told him, he didn’t have to leave. Finally, he sighed and got up. Letting her decide who she spent her time with was one of the only freedoms he could grant her.  
  
While he left the Vault, he was too caught up in feeling terrible for losing his friend all over again, he didn’t even notice he forgot to tell her, he had never, _ever_ despised her.

  
  
  
‘Missy, come on, you can’t possibly want to spend all your days alone in here.’  
  
‘I’m not alone,’ came the damped answer from underneath her pillow. ‘Egg Head is coming here sometimes.’  
  
‘Yes,’ the Doctor replied tonelessly. ‘He’s a huge fan.’  
  
She shrugged, the movement being nothing more than a twitch underneath a little mountain of blanket. He knew what it was anyway and decided to indulge her stubbornness and change topic.   
  
‘Do you always sleep like this?’ He had tried to laugh, but all that left his mouth was a pathetic, artificial chuckle.  
  
She didn’t even look up.   
  
‘Come on, Missy,’ he said tiredly, rubbing his eyes with a sigh. ‘It’s your birthday. Let’s talk, at least? You don’t have to spend it on your own.’

‘Are you going to let me go out?’ she wanted to know and he could see one eye from underneath the blanket, observing his reaction.  
  
The Doctor sighed.   
  
‘I can’t,’ he replied. ‘You know I can’t.’  
  
She had mimicked his expression and mouthed the words alongside him, putting the covers away almost aggressively.  
  
‘You always say that,’ she hissed at him. ‘If it’s all you have to say, kindly spare me your words and leave.’

He stood still for a second, staring at her while thinking.  
  
It was her birthday and she was clearly miserable, two things his romanticised mind simply didn’t want to see combined. She had been miserable the whole last months, refused to talk to anyone but Nardole and barely ever eaten anything at all. He had started to worry about her a while ago, but assumed she was just being sulky and it would eventually fade. He tended to forget he was facing the same stubborn moron who had once refused to regenerate just to piss him off.   
  
‘I don’t want to do that,’ he finally sighed. ‘And I don’t want you to have to be mad at me any longer. This is not the point of this. I know, you hate me, but I’m trying, Missy.’  
  
His pleading tone must had reached her _somehow_ , because with a roll of her eyes, Missy replied, ‘If I hated you, I’d be long gone. Or do you really think I couldn’t break out of here on my own?’  
  
The Doctor just stared.   
  
‘I told you, I wanted my friend back,’ she whispered quietly. ‘If this is what it takes, I’ll do it. I’m doing it.’  
  
His head was refreshingly clear, when he sat down next to her. He took her hand into his, laid his other hand above hers, looked into her confused and yet piercing, always so piercing, blue eyes, earnestly.  
  
‘It’s time I’ll be a friend to you, then,’ he explained. ‘I’ve sworn to protect you, and I’m sorry, but you’re really not ready yet to go out of here. But I’m going to fill my part of the deal.’ He closed his eyes for a second, knowing, there was no way back and if there was, he wouldn’t take it. With a deep breath, he opened them again, and smiled at Missy, faintly. ‘I’m going to stay. On Earth. For as long as you’re stuck here, I’ll be stuck with you, okay? No more adventures, no stories, just my silly, old professor job and humans being too slow to keep up.’

She smiled and it was a relief. He hadn’t seen anything friendly from her in what felt like ages.   
  
‘You’ll be annoyed in less than a week.’  
  
He smiled back at her, he simply couldn’t resist.   
  
‘Probably on the first day,’ he agreed. ‘But luckily, there’s someone here who shares my intellectual level.’

She snorted, but she seemed to finally have decided to stop sulking.   
  
‘Alright,’ she assented. ‘It’s a fair offer. At least I’m not the only one suffering then.’  
  
The Doctor nodded.  
  
He might live to regret this, being stuck on Earth had its ways of wearing him down, but right now he couldn’t quite believe there was anything that’d make him more miserable than his oldest friend in the universe not talking to him.

‘So, how about takeout and movie night, then?’ he asked with a little smile.  
  
Missy raised an eyebrow towards him.   
  
‘No Disney.’  
  
‘But… - ‘  
  
‘No, absolutely no Disney, I’m sick of all your little heart melting dog-falls-in-love-with-cat-movies.’  
  
The Doctor snorted.   
  
‘What if I told you it’s part of your redemption program?’  
  
‘I’d tell you it’s my birthday and I can have _one_ day off and watch Saw with my best friend.’  
  
‘Saw?’ the Doctor repeated incredulous. ‘You don’t like Saw.’  
  
‘You neither,’ replied Missy with a smirk. ‘Good enough for me.’

   
  


‘I like her,’ Missy said sweetly. ‘Not as quick as Clara, a bit naïve, really, but a cute little thing.’  
  
The Doctor frowned at her.  
  
‘Who is Clara?’  
  
For a second, Missy’s perfectly composed expression slipped and he could see some fine layers of worry underneath, but they were gone as quickly as a new, cool smile appeared on her lips.  
  
‘Oh just… forget it.’  
  
She chuckled.   
  
‘You scare her, you know? I’d appreciate it if you were a bit less… _intense_ around Bill.’  
  
‘Sure,’ Missy yawned, letting some of her piano keys chime, the sound echoing from the wide walls of the Vault. She seemed clearly lost in thought for a few seconds.   
  
‘Are you happy, Doctor?’  
  
Frowning, he looked up to her. ‘Happy?’ he repeated incredulous. ‘What is this about?’  
  
She shrugged, eyes still fixed on the piano beneath her. Once in a while he could hear another score whenever she pressed a finger down.   
  
‘Not precisely _happy_ ,’ he finally brought out. ‘But I’m getting there. Right?’  
  
He had rarely felt so uncertain. Cautiously, he watched Missy, who showed no reaction at all for a whole while. Finally, she let her hand sink and sighed.   
  
‘She told me, you know?’  
  
‘Told you what?’  
  
Missy smiled. ‘She told me she’s afraid of me. Like I said, naïve little thing. Came in here the other day, with Egg Head, saying she’d want to believe in the good in me, because you would.’  
  
The Doctor pressed his eyes shut, feeling a headache coming.  
  
‘Tell me, you didn’t crush her, please?’  
  
‘Well, I wanted to, but she said something interesting, you see? Speaking of crushing…’  
  
The Doctor froze.    
  
‘Oh no.’  
  
With a predatory smile, Missy glided from her piano stool elegantly, drawing closer to the Time Lord in a lurking way she had perfected over centuries.  
  
‘So,’ she grinned when she stood right in front of the Doctor and not a moment sooner. ‘You had a crush on me, huh?’  
  
‘This is not, what I said,’ he stuttered. ‘I said… I mean, I might’ve said it, but what I meant was… like… I admired you, but… You know… This is not getting better for me, is it?’ he added when he looked into her spreading grin, all teeth.   
  
‘You admired me?’ she repeated with amusement in her voice.  
  
The Doctor looked at her wide-eyed. ‘You had to know that. I mean, basically everyone knew. Our classmates were taking bets on how long it would take us to snog.’  
  
‘Well, I hope someone bet on “ten centuries”, because I so hate when there are no winners.’  
  
And before the Doctor could even begin to protest, there were soft lips on his. For one second, all he could taste was lipstick, then there was a tongue slipping in and he could taste something else, something strangely familiar, something, he somehow always connected to the Master. Without even realising it, he deepened the kiss and let on hand rest on Missy’s waist. He could feel her smile on his lips.   
  
‘We should’ve done this ages ago,’ she whispered, warm breath mingling with his.   
  
‘Couldn’t,’ he replied, slightly out of breath.  
  
She was still so close to him, made his head spin. Part of him was dizzy with want, another part of him didn’t even realise yet, he just held in his arms the only person he had ever wanted to be with. Missy snuggled onto him, let her forehead rest on his chest, still chuckling a little breathlessly.   
  
‘Of course we could have,’ she finally brought out. ‘You were just too busy being a puppy-eyed superhero.’  
  
‘Depends on your point of view, really,’ the Doctor retorted. ‘For me, you were too busy blowing up planets.’  
  
‘Hey, I made you several offers!’  
  
Missy laughed when he rolled his eyes.   
  
‘Rrrright. How could I not have known all your countless offers of ruling the universe were hidden invites to make out?’  
  
‘Depends on your point of view, really,’ Missy gave back mockingly. ‘I’d say there was nothing _hidden_ about it.’ She smirked. ‘Just like your crush.’  
  
The Doctor rolled his eyes, but didn’t let go of Missy, his hands still tight around her waist. With each breath, he could smell that familiar smell of her, the smell he had tasted a few seconds ago and he wondered if Missy could get him addicted. Because right now, it certainly felt so. It was an easy equation. He was, clearly, addicted to danger and Missy was danger, the best, most beautiful, worst kind of danger.  
  
‘I admit, it was kind of obvious. For anyone but you,’ he added with a smirk.   
  
‘Do tell me about it. Bill was incredibly coy with details.’  
  
‘Oh, you know,’ he sighed. ‘You’re almost as funny as me. Almost as clever. Almost as inventive. Almost as…’  
  
Her lips made him shut up.  
  
There was no need for him to point out he could’ve gone on with that list forever, just as there was no need to point out for her, that he had used present tense.  
All that mattered, in this moment, was them, was not letting go, was holding on to what they had wanted for centuries.  
  
And he knew, eventually he would have to, eventually he would need to tell her that he couldn’t trust her yet, because he couldn’t, could he? There was hope, for her, for them, as there had always been, because in all their time fighting, he never gave the Master up, but right now, he couldn’t trust her yet.  
  
But he knew, the day he finally could, would be the day nobody would be able to tear them apart, ever again.


End file.
